Talent Is a Ghostwriter Who Doesn’t Want to Drown Himself

Of all the football players who inexplicably moonlight as newspaper columnists, David James is the only one I consistently enjoy reading for unironic reasons. His opinions on the game are often genuinely interesting, and his personality on the page has more life than what you find in the usual one-sentence-per-paragraph fluff. Maybe he has a ghostwriter, but at least his ghostwriter probably doesn’t feel like killing himself every time he picks up a paycheck. Today in his Observer column he offers one of the best considerations of the Croatia-game aftermath that I’ve seen from any writer. It’s ordered, calm, well-reasoned, and admirably un-hysterical. That’s not to say it’s full of novel ideas, but in the current media environment there’s something novel in simply not shrieking. Here’s his take on the motivation of the Croatian players:

Put yourself in Croatia’s shoes: they’ve already qualified, but if they play well there is an opportunity to put themselves in the shop window. Luka Modric is rumoured to be in negotiations with Chelsea. Israel and Russia would also have felt the focus; when else would England pay such close attention to a match between these two nations? A move to the Premier League is a life-changing opportunity. Arriving back in training, Niko Kranjcar was a happy man. Singing the national anthem last week, he had the biggest smile on his face. He must have known something we didn’t.

I’d encourage anyone to read it who’s interested in the game or in where England go next. I’ll be back tomorrow with some thoughts on the state of the current discussion, a partial defense of the England team, and an action-packed roundup of the weekend’s Premier League action. I am Sky Sports.

I find it somewhat hysterical that the FA’s first consideration for McClaren’s successor was O’Neill, a Northern Irishman. When was the last really successful English manager, either for country or for a Premiership club?

I ask because Allardyce was another manager who was, at one point, rumored to be in the running to succeed Ericksson, but now Allardyce is doing a clownish job at Newcastle. It’s just ironic that the FA, while trumpeting their precious quota on foreign players, are likely to look to foreign shores to take the helm of their national team. The problem, as they say, starts at the top, and I think the dearth of good English managers has as much to do with the current “crisis” as any lack of quality players. (I don’t think it’s coincidental that the top four teams in the Prem all employ non-English managers.)